Improvement in communicating-apparatus for hotels



N. A. PATTEBSONQ ANNUNOIATOR..

No. 98,794. "1 1 PatentedNJanhll, 1870.

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is. A.-PATTERSON,: or NASHVILLE, ASSIGNOR 'TO HIMSELF, THOMAS S. RAMSEY,or LENOIBS, AND D. E. DAVENPORT, or DEGHERD, TENNESSEE.

Letters Patent No. 98,794, dated January 11, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMMUNICATINQAPPARA'I'US FOR HOTELS.

The Schedule referred. to in these Letters Patent making part of thesame.

To all whom. it may concern.-

Be it known that I, N. A. PATTERSON, of Nashville in the county ofDavidson, and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and improved HotelCommunicating-Apparatus; andI do hereby declarethat the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable othersskilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being hadtc theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in appara-. tus for .use inhotels, business-houses, steamboats, depots, and the like, forcommunicating the wants of the occupants of rooms to the clerk, or,headquarters, in a way to save the time and labor now required, inanswer to; the bell-calls from the rooms, of afjourn'ey to the room, bythe servants, to be told by the occupant of the room what is wanted.

The invention consists in an arrangement of tubes leading from the roomsto the ofiice or headquarters,

and the employment of arrows or balls, with the number of the roomsmarked on them, and either havingtbe wants. marked on them, or-madehollow and capable of enclosing and conveying special messages writtenon paper, the said arrows or balls to be passed through the said tubesto the office, the arrows being impelled by air forced in by bellows, orother means, supplied to each room, and the balls being impelled bygravity, the tubes being arranged so as not to obstruct the action ofgravity, and also being so arrangedat the corners as to permit thepassage of double flush-headed arrows.-

Figure 1 represents a sectional. elevation of a wall of a building,showing two systems of pipes leading from therooms to the office;

Figure 2 represents, in elevation and section, the balls such as Icontemplate using; and

.Figure 3 represents, in-elevation, an end view of the arrows, such as.I use.

A.- is a. tube, shown running from room, say N .26, to an upright tube,B, running down through the hotel to the clerks desk at (l.

In room 26, is represented a bellows, D, by means of which double-headedarrows E are 'driven through the tube to the main upright tube B,through which they fall down to the clerks' desk.

The arrows, so called, will be made some two inches in length, and withflush or floss-heads F at each end, covering the periphery ofthe head,the face of each end or head being exposed. On one end, the number ofthe room, say 26, would be placed, as shown at G.- On the other end, ahotel want, such as fuel, water,

-towels, 850., as at H, as many arrows being used as i there may hewants in a general list. Another arrow for each room would have thenumber of the room on one end, the other end being. made hollow, to,receive email card orpiece of paper rolled closely, on which anyconvenient form.

message, not embraced in any convenient form, by means of which anarrow, with a hollow body to contain the message or paper closely rolledup, could be shot or, driven through the tube, forth and back, up ordown.

By this means, communication can be had through or betweenthe apartmentsof the largest-"buildings, or

even between buildings separated by considerable distance.

On the reverse side ofthe model is shown in dottedlines, a similarsystem of pipes I, applicable to hotels and other houses, even inprivateresidences, in sending messages to rooms below or off, from the'house,

where a grade suflicient can be obtained.

It consists of a system of tubes I from each room in 'a hotel,concentrating in a common or main tube,

which ends at the clerks desk, through which tubes, balls K, of anyconvenient heavy material, are passed to the clerks desk.

Each room is suppliedwith a suit of balls,.bearing the number of theroom, and each a separate hotel want, such as water, fuel,' towels,baggage, or servants,

&c., and asingle or extra ball, 13, made of two hollow hemispheres, puttogether with a hinge and clasp, of

In this ball, which contains on its surface only the number of thegroom,a special message on paperis enclosed, as shown'at M.

The ball is placed in the tube, for instance of room N o. 26, androllsthrongh as fast or faster than any one would walk, and on reachingthe last perpendicular tube over the clerkis desk, drops on-the: ends ofa sound-board O, which causes a hammer, I, attached to it, to strike abell; The ball then rollsoet to the clerks'hand, and all he has to do isto call a servant and deliver the ball, without speaking a word. Theball tellsthe servant where and what is 'wanted. He takes the articlecalled for, and the ball, and delivers them to the guest. It will makeno diifere'nce how many guests start balls at the same time,-as theballs will not clog, the tubes being made about one and one-half thediameter of the halls, and each ball calls for a. servant. v

or use in an ordinary dwelling, a tube maybelaid to the servants room,through which orders of almost every conceivable character may be sent,as to time of meals, or the peculiar dishes, quantity, 860., to beserved, as well as general orders, or calls.

A tube may be laid to the stables, through which orders for carriages,horses, 860., may be sent; or, in

steamboats, or in ships of large tonnage, the plan maybeztrdaptod forthe-transmission of all messages froman elevated position. Where thearrows are employed, messages may be conveyed, either up or down, or inany direction.

The special advantage of this system-is the certainty ot'communicationin general use, but especially for hotels. Added o the advan tage ofcertainty, is that the call maybe responded to in less thanhalf theusual time, as the trip up stairs now required, to inquire the want, isavoided. ,It has also the advantage of placing in the hand of theservant a printed order, and it saves the clerk the trouble of talking,as he need only delive the ball or arr0w.,

Measurably, the same may be said for the'efliciency of the plan for usesin other houses. With its use,

about one-half the errand-servants of a hotel may be dispensed with. 7

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A communicatingapparatus for hotelsand other buildings, consisting ofa system of tubes Aor I, lead ing from the difierent rooms to, a commontube, terminating at the oflice, or other place of attendance, andarrows or balls, either hollow or solid, numbered to correspond with thenumber of'the room to which they belong, and either having the messagesprinted, or otherwise placed on the exterior, or enclosed in the hollowspaces, and arranged to be impelled through the said tubes hv gravity orair, all substantially as specified. i

2. The combination, with the tubes A or I, arranged as described, of thesounding-b0ard O, bell-hammer P, and bell Q, all substantiallyasspecified.

, JAMES M. Parcrnnson,

Mas. BETTIE S. HARDIN.

3. T he flush-headed arrows E, constructed, arranged,

